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Amazon cuts 16k jobs

reuters.com

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Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#321

Post by throwway120385 »

ghurtado wrote: post #252
boogrpants wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fiat wealth so... write the ledger however. The majority don't care so long as they have enough food and shelter and healthcare. The whole scoreboard based on bank accounts is all made up wankeroo. Let's just have AI avatars fight for gloating rights; Goku beat Superman on PPV so Japan gets to host the inter dimensional cable world cup! And otherwise keep the biologically essential logistics flowing cause that c…

> It's fiat wealth so... write the ledger however I'd like to see a serious study about the word "fiat" and whether it has been used to make a single valid economic argument in the last 30 years (auto maker excluded) Just kidding, I know it has not.

The whole point of it seems to be to dismiss the entire economic system in favor of something that almost nobody has bought in to like bullion or cryptocurrency or somesuch for the benefit of the speaker. Currency, even paper currency, is one of the most pervasive societal "grand illusions" that we share. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing as it greases the entire system of exchange for literally everyone everywhere.

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#322

Post by autokad »

echelon wrote: post #309
darth_avocado wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since the HN reaction to layoffs almost always is about blaming H1B, here’s a few more things the headline misses: 1. Cuts were global 2. Cuts in US also include H1B employees 3. 16000 roles are corporate roles, not just tech related, H1B program is not generally utilized for those roles 4. Expansion in India is not just tech. Amazon is a big retailer in India. Understandably if you’re seeing revenue growth in India,…

Shouldn't we all want H1B rather than offshoring? That keeps the facilities here, the local employment options here, the growth here, the tax base here... We should want more smart people moving to this country. More business creation, more capital, more labor, more output. Immigration is total economic growth for America, non zero-sum. Offshoring is not only economic loss, but second order loss: we lose the capacity…

I am not so sure on that. They raise inflation, home prices, etc. The locals see no real benefit except having to pay more for everything. While more taxes are collected, most of that goes to offsetting just some of the economic pain induced by the people living there.

and it is in fact zero sum. every spot filled in university or company is a spot not taken by a local, as its obvious by the numbers, more local people are not getting admitted into CS programs nor are they being hired. its 100% zero sum when we are looking at these numbers and %s.

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#323

Post by krustyburger »

mvdtnz wrote: post #277
antonyh wrote: post #136

I'm outside the US, and boycotting Amazon for anything I can get elsewhere (which turns out isn't everything, but best efforts and all that). The shift towards AI is either a very bad thing (as per Microslop and the raft of recent articles about quality dropping), or just a cheap excuse to replace expensive staff with cheaper people. Alternatively they may be using AI in HR as part of the decision making, and it's ma…

I find it very hard to believe you can't boycott Amazon completely. They don't even exist in my country and it has never been a struggle to find anything you might get there.

But what if you want Amazon Basics brand batteries or counterfeit health products?

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#324

Post by maximedupre »

bjt12345 wrote: post #208
maximedupre wrote: post #91

10% cut of the corporate workforce in 2 months is wild lol Crazy most of it is programmers (and/or various other white collar jobs) tbh

Doesn't say it's programmers though but middle management: > Amazon slashed 14,000 white-collar jobs in late October, with CEO Andy Jassy stressing the need for the company to eliminate *excessive bureaucracy* by trimming operational levels and reducing the number of managers.

Ah thanks for clearing that up.

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#325

Post by nateglims »

tchalla wrote: post #97

Interesting perspective of an L7 who was laid off at Amazon https://xcancel.com/PlumbNick/status/2016500347053773198

I would wager being remote made him a target. It seems like a stretch to say it's just the global job market when the layoffs are global.

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#326

Post by boelboel »

rkomorn wrote: post #300
square_usual wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

H1B transfers are easy. You aren't beholden to an employer.

I've had three different H1Bs. Yes, transfers are easy, but they're sure a hell more risky than staying at your current job and enduring whatever you have to. You're not beholden to your employer, but you have borderline coercive reasons to stay.

Even a 5% chance you and your partner/kids have to uproot their life is a bigger sacrifice than a 30% wage increase, at least to some people.

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#327

Post by esseph »

sejje wrote: post #35
still-learning wrote: post #11

I wonder what kind of unprecedented economic growth we'd be seeing right now if we kept with the status quo rather than imposing tariffs and scaring off foreign investors.

[flagged]

The impact to social bonds between the US and other Western nations has been thrown completely off track, and now they are looking for exits from anything US related.

These tarrifs were the absolutely dumbest thing imaginable, and have brought the post WWII period of US economic prosperity to a point it can never recover.

It's only down from here. We pissed off our friends.

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#328

Post by KerrAvon »

echelon wrote: post #309
darth_avocado wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since the HN reaction to layoffs almost always is about blaming H1B, here’s a few more things the headline misses: 1. Cuts were global 2. Cuts in US also include H1B employees 3. 16000 roles are corporate roles, not just tech related, H1B program is not generally utilized for those roles 4. Expansion in India is not just tech. Amazon is a big retailer in India. Understandably if you’re seeing revenue growth in India,…

Shouldn't we all want H1B rather than offshoring? That keeps the facilities here, the local employment options here, the growth here, the tax base here... We should want more smart people moving to this country. More business creation, more capital, more labor, more output. Immigration is total economic growth for America, non zero-sum. Offshoring is not only economic loss, but second order loss: we lose the capacity…

We should want open borders. Immigration is a significant net positive. But we can settle for controlled immigration with liberal limits.

H1-B is stupid on its face. You're seriously telling me that this software engineering job absolutely cannot be filled by an American? That doesn't pass the laugh test.

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#329

Post by paxys »

rich_sasha wrote: post #68
paxys wrote: post #4

Every large company is updating its standard layoffs announcement press release from "economic headwinds" to "AI".

Excuse is only half the story. I don't fully understand why they are doing it though. Companies hire people to make money, not as an act of social conformance. Global economy doesn't look that terrible. Nor is the AI story that believable. Is it just the CEO Zeitgeist? All the guys at Aspen talking about what fraction they cut, just as 5 years ago they bragged how bloated their org chart is? TBH the "ZIRP overhiring"…

The reason is the same as always - they want to cut costs and increase profits. And there are no laws in America that prevent them from indiscriminate firing.

Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs

#330

Post by ericmay »

darth_avocado wrote: post #161
focusgroup0 wrote: post #37

>Amazon axes 16,000 American jobs as it ... relocates to a larger campus in India https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/amazon-to-invest-additiona...

Amazon is a big retailer in India, believe it or not, if you are a big online retailer in a country, you will have a big corporate presence in that country.

> if you are a big online retailer in a country, you will have a big corporate presence in that country.

Is that true? Could you think of some large retailers in other countries, like the United States, without a big corporate presence? What do you mean when you say "big"? 1,000 employees? 10,000? 100?

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